Undertone
- Jul 7
- 2 min read
Meh. All promise and little payoff, UNDERTONE wastes an interesting premise with too much aimless wandering in search of scares.
We're getting spoiled by low budget horror game changers like "Backrooms" and "Obsession", but this one was also a substantial hit, earning over $21 million at the box office against a $500k budget.
Filmed mostly in his childhood home, Writer/Director Ian Tuason introduces us to Evy Babic (the very good Nina Kiri from "The Handsmaid Tale") who is taking care of her comatose Mother at home. Hospice nurses assure her that it appears to be near the end.
Evy's life is consumed by 24/7 care of her silent parent and we experience the loneliness and long days that Evy is going through.
Her only respite from that solitude is the podcast that she hosts with Justin (Adam DiMarco). They explore the supernatural much like the X Files, with Justin being the believer and Evy the constant skeptic.
They are both intrigued by 10 new files anonymously submitted to their website featuring a couple named Mike and Jessa. Their recordings vary in length and seem to be Mike's attempts to capture Jessa talking and singing in her sleep.
As the recordings begin to spin into strange territory, Evy and Justin's research leads to everything from the lore behind children's nursery rhymes to horrific legends about evil spirits. I'll say no more to avoid ruining any surprises.
At the same time that the recordings get spookier and weirder, Evy's home suddenly appears to be manifesting strange occurrences.
Why are the lights blinking on and off?
If it's only Evy and her comatose Mom in the house, how are faucets turning on?
Michele Duquet (Three Men and a Baby) is very good as Mama, a role with no lines, but plenty of opportunities for subtle horror and Duquet delivers.
Tuason creates some good moments, especially around the mirrors and happenings in her mother's upstairs room.
He also enjoys slow reveals of what's on those mysterious recordings and how they tie into Evy's own life.
The challenge is that most of the film is us watching Evy listen to scary things in her head phones as she records the podcast. There's nothing inherently in that set up that's going to scare us beyond any sudden noises. I thought the scenes with Evy exploring the dark corners of the old home were much more effective at building tension.
Tuason gets full credit for creating a sense of creeping dread that he slowly winds tighter over the film's 94 minute running time.
I'll never think of Baa Baa Black Sheep the same way again....
Tuason filmed Kiri's real first time reactions to hearing the recordings, played loud over noise cancelling headphones. It's a nice choice and her reactions are genuine. Some of those moments are the highlight of the film, but fade quickly.
The Dolby Atmos 360 sound design adds real impact to those recordings as well.
I liked that final climb up the stairs and the production design elements around that scene, but overall, UNDERTONE left me underwhelmed. The sum never quite equals the good moments.
It gets a C.
See the trailer below, which is far scarier than the film itself.
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